I have only read one re-telling of this tale, and it is: To escape, the lovers commit suicide “and are reunited in death, forever”. Siegfried discovers he has been tricked, he runs to Odette at the lake and begs her forgiveness, she agrees but tells him that the only way she can escape the curse now is by death. Suspecting nothing (because he is stupid, hey ho nothing changes), Siegfried announces he loves fake!Odette. Rothbart sends his daughter, Odile, disguised as Odette, to appear at the ball before Odette can get there. Prince Siegfried and Odette fall in love, but Rothbart tricks Siegfried into breaking his vow, trapping Odette in her swan form forever. Odette explains her curse to Siegfried and he invites her a ball the next evening, where he will ask her to be his bride in front of the entire kingdom. She transforms in front of him and he is struck by her beauty (lol “WHAT ELSE IS THERE?” GUYS. While hunting, Prince Siegfried comes across Odette and nearly shoots her. Basically if the vow of eternal love is broken, she will stay a swan. The only way for the curse to be broken is ~*~true love~*~. The lake was magically formed from the tears her mother cried for her when Rothbart Kidnapped her. She is transformed by Rothbart, the sorcerer, into a swan and can only appear in human form by night.Īt the lake, there are many companions who suffer the same curse, who subsequently named her their Queen (hence the original title “The Swan Queen”) The tale of “Swan Lake” tells the story of a princess named Odette who is kidnapped and cursed by a wicked sorcerer’s curse, which turns her into a swan. On the Aarne Thompson Scale, Swan Lake can be found under type 300: Princess and Dragons.

The Ballet was composed in 1875-1876, although there is some debate and inaccuracies about the actual origins of the tale itself. The tale itself does not come along in great detail like most of the traditional fairy tales, as it was originally told in the form of the Ballet, which was composed by Tchaikovsky (the musical genius who also scored the ballets of Sleeping Beauty and the Nutcracker).

Original Sources: Now I do not actually have a copy of the tale with me so yes, I will be basically referring to the glorious Wikipedia and interwebs for assistance on this one!. I wore those tapes out.) So I figured what better way to get back into this feature than going to this beauty and weirdness of a tale. I remember always watching the Don Bluth movie “The Swan Princess” whenever I would go to my grandad’s on a saturday afternoon (often in company with Thumbelina and Beauty and the Beast…constantly. This week’s Friday’s Fairytales will be exploring the origins of the tale of “Swan Lake”. Otherwise known as “that tale with(out) Derek the Douche”Īhem.

The Swan Maiden by Heather Tomlinson